When I came into the living room yesterday to write an entry, I discovered that my computer was missing. Well, it wasn�t exactly missing�not physically. It was missing virtually. While I was slaving away trying to get too many errands done here in Milwaukee, my computer was vacationing in London (with a side trip to Dartmoor.)

This household has two computers. The one in the dining room is much older and only runs Window 3.11 but it is perfectly adequate for basic word processing. It has no scanner. It has a modem but no phone line. It has a printer but it is an old-fashioned tractor feed one with poor quality. So, when a big school project is looming that requires a scanner, heavy graphics capacity, and the Internet, I lose computer time.

That�s how my computer came to be vacationing in London. Day-Hay was trying to finish the travelogue project. She had chosen her destination, found her flights, and assembled information on tourist attractions, hotels, and restaurants. She had written up her information. But now it was time to integrate maps, pictures, and assorted brochures. It was time to move out of the computer little league and step up to the big league plate. Luckily for Day-Hay, she is not a Milwaukee Brewer so I think she even got a hit. She needed my computer.

She used Mr. Philately as a technology consultant and I was glad. I use Microsoft Word, the program from the Evil Empire, at work. Mr. Philately is a WordPerfect kind of guy and so our home computer is a WordPerfect zone. (Note for the record: Obviously, I don�t ALWAYS insist on having things my own way.) I can use WordPerfect but it has the most annoying habit of suddenly just moving graphics boxes wherever it chooses. Mr. Philately reads the codes far better than I�so he did�and the finished trip report looks wonderful, page protectors and all. (Mr. Philately loves page protectors, binders, his children, the Brewers, and me�not necessarily in that order.)

I could have written an entry last night. I could have used the dining room computer. But I don�t like to and the reason is age. Furniture is set up in that room so that I cannot push a chair back to the correct position so that I can see the screen clearly. The screen always seems to be too close for the distance part of the bifocals and too far for the near part. Still, I would not have been able to post it from there.

But this morning my computer is back in Milwaukee. I hope it�s well rested. It deserved a vacation.

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